Nashua Telegraph - December 3, 2009

Clinton presents Life and Liberty Award to Annette Lantos on behalf of her late husband, Tom Lantos

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MANCHESTER – Former President Bill Clinton gave New Hampshire Democrats a sobering but upbeat pep talk on health care, energy, higher education and foreign policy Wednesday night.

Clinton praised President Obama’s troop surge strategy in Afghanistan though admitting there’s no way of knowing now if it will work.

“Any course they were taking on would have been unknowable,” Clinton said.

Obama’s refusal to be stampeded into a quick decision impressed him because this may be the toughest task of his presidency, he continued.

“They won’t pour good money and good blood after bad,” Clinton told about 1,000 Democratic activists at the party’s Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner at the Radisson Hotel here. “I believe they will have the courage to do it.”

Clinton said the hard work of governing takes time and Democrats should avoid discouragement and what he called “attention deficit disorder” of the American public because the nation’s pressing challenges are not yet resolved.

“If they fail, fine, throw them out; tell people that but give them a chance to fail,” Clinton said.

Clinton credited former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo who once compared political campaigns to poetry and governing to prose.

“The poetry of the campaign has given way to the prose of governing,” Clinton began.

Later he elaborated.

“When you write the prose you have to go beyond the main things that get reported in politics, that is, what you intend to do and how much money are you going to spend on it. The third and most important question in the 21st century is how you propose to do it?”

Clinton saved his strongest partisan attacks for universal health care, an issue he tried and failed to achieve 15 years ago.

Clinton mocked GOP leaders who warn reform will lead to higher taxes and more bureaucracy that would hurt the economy. The nation’s top economic competitors spend hundreds of billions less a year and cover many more of their own people than the U.S. does, Clinton said.

“This is an economic cancer in America,” Clinton said.

It will take five years to change the health care delivery system but a reform law would quickly lower administrative costs and cover millions more Americans, he added.

“You pass this bill. It will take your breath away how fast it will make progress in health care,” Clinton said. “We’ve got to do it.”

Congress must approve climate change legislation because it would improve air quality, create more jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and make the country safer.

“We would be nuts not to do it, and that’s exactly what we can do,” Clinton said.

Clinton quipped about his status as an ex-president married to key member of Obama’s cabinet.

“The great thing about being a former is you can say whatever the heck you want,” Clinton said. “The sad thing is nobody cares anymore unless your wife happens to be secretary of state.”

Clinton also defended New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status.

“You can’t get away with rhetoric. You have to talk about how, what is it exactly that you are trying to do,’’ Clinton said.

And Clinton wistfully reminisced about his political achievements here from winning the Presidency in 1992 after his “comeback” New Hampshire primary showing to his wife’s New Hampshire victory over Obama in the 2008 primary.

“I have had 30 years of wonderful times in NH. I would not have become president without you and you know it,” Clinton said.

Earlier Wednesday, Clinton presented the late California Congressman Tom Lantos with the “Life and Liberty Award” on behalf of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Society. Annette Lantos accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.

Clinton saluted Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to have served in the Congress, for leading his administration’s early efforts for human rights in Haiti and Bosnia.

“In both cases, big majorities of popular opinion were opposed to what we were trying to do before it worked but Tom Lantos was there,” Clinton said.

During the remarks, Clinton lashed out at the leadership in Iran following what Clinton described as a fixed election that kept President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.

“Now, the brutal regime seems determined to try and crush the will of the people,” Clinton said.

Human rights abuses continue in America, he continued.

“As long as it exists on earth, we will need the memory, actions and spirit of Tom Lantos,” Clinton said.

Clinton also toured the Franklin Pierce Manse in Concord, home of the New Hampshire Political Library. The visit came a day after officials confirmed layoffs of all four staff at the library due to the economic downturn.

Kevin Landrigan can be reached at 321-7040 or klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com